Paper control for business machines



May 25, 1965 R. M. PINE ETAL PAPER CONTROL FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet l uml Filed July 2., 1962 1 i i l R. M. PINE ETAL PAPER CONTROL FOR BUSINESS MACHINES May 25, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 2. 1962 May 25, 1965 R. M. PINE ETAL.

PAPER CONTROL FOR BUSINESS MACHINES Filed July 2, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 {Imm} May 25, 1965 R. M. PINE ETAL PAPER CONTROL FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 2, 1962 MalyA 25', 1.965 R.y PINE. ETAL PPERu CONTROL FOR BUSINESS MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed. July 2, 1962:

United States Patent O 3,185,097 PAPER CON'IRGL EUR BUSiNESS' MACHINES Robert M. Pine, Chicago, and Charies L. Peterson, Crystal Lake, Ill., assignors to Uarco Incorporated, a corporation of Illinois Filed .luly 2, i962, Ser. No. 2%,898 3 Claims. (Cl. 83-I63) This invention relates to devices for controlling and guiding continuous form stationery through business machines.

The common method of driving continuous form stationery through a business machine is by engagement of the control punched holes in the side margins of the stationery with pins extending radially outwardly from a driven wheel. The side margins of the stationery may be cut therefrom by a pair of vertically spaced cutting wheels, one of which is coaxially mounted with the driven wheel, or the pinwheel may be used as a feeding device for the stationery without trimming. The stationery generally departs from the pin wheel in a linear horizontal path, parallel to the top of the pinwheel. At the point where the pins on the pinwheel are supposed to become disengaged with the feed holes of the margin of the stationery and begin to disappear below the plane of the stationery, the pins do not impart a true involute motion to the driven stationery. There is a tendency for the pins (being disposed in an increasingly more acute angle in relation to the stationery) to push the marginal material down from the normal plane of travel. This tendency of the pins to catch on retraction from the feed holes, frequently causes jamming of the machine due to the fact that the driving means is disposed in a relatively contined space and the stationery travels at rather high speeds through the machine. Such jams require a signicant amount of time and etfort to dislodge the paper and place the machine again' in operation.

Another problem present in current trimming devices is a tendency for the stationery to buckle or rise olf the drive wheels. This is believed to be caused by the relatively exible nature of the paper and also is due to folds at the transverse lines 1of weakening which are formed in the continuous form stationery. Elforts to restrain this relatively vertical movement have resulted in substantially retarding the generally horizontal path of travel of the trimmed marginal portion of the stationery. This further contributes to the tendency of the trimmer to jam, or at least, limit the speed of the trimmer.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved paper control for pin-fed stationery devices.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improved paper control having means for maintaining the stationery in a linear path of travel past the drive wheel.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a new and improved paper control having means tending to lift the material of the stationery off the drive wheel at the proper point of disengagement with the drive wheel pms.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a new and improved paper control having means giving the marginal material of the stationery a moving support from the point of its tangential contact with the periphery of the drive wheel to a point past the disengagement of the drive pins with the stationery. Y

It is a further object of this invention to provide a new and improved paper control having means for limiting the vertical movement of the stationery, said means urging the stationery itself to assume a generally linear path of travel.

lCC

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view in partial phantom outline showing a general embodiment -of this invention in a trimmer mechanism;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary front elevational View taken along the line 2-2 of FIGURE l;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of the device shown in FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a section view taken along the line 4 4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a section view taken along the line S-5 of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a section View taken along the line 6 6 of FIGURE 5; and I FIGURE 7 is a section view taken along the line 7-7 of FIGURE 5.

The device of this invention chosen for illustration is embodied in a trimmer mechanism Il? which is designed to receive stationery lll at the front i2 thereof for driving the stationery through the trimmer and removing marginal material therefrom. Since each trim unit can also act as a pinwheel feed unit without trimming, the use of the present invention in this apparatus will be quite apparent.

A mounting bar I3 extends across the width of the front of the trimmer on which is mounted a pair of trim units I4 and 14a which drive the stationery through the trimmer 10 and may also remove the marginal material from the stationery. The trim units le and 14a are intersected by a pair of spaced driven shafts IS and 15a of substantially hexagonal peripheral configuration which are generally parallel to each other and to the mounting bar I3. The driven shafts IS and 15a transmit rotational force to the trim units from a pulley wheel 16 which is operatively connected to a power source (not shown) by means of a belt 17. A measuring means or scaled bar 18 extends generally parallel tothe mounting bar and driven shafts and cooperates with the indicator 19 on each trim unit to determine the distance between the units. The indicator 19 may be mounted to the trim unit by means of a slidable post and slot arrangement (not shown) to permit limited Vertical movement of the indicator when the trim unit is in the no trim position as will be described later. The stationery 11 has a margin 24 at each side thereof, sometimes defined by an inner line of weakening 24a and the outer edge of the stationery. Formed in the margins are control punch holes 23.

The stationery i-s driven through each trim unit by means of a pinwheel 21 which has a plurality of radially extending upstanding pins Z2 sequentially engaging the control punch holes 23 in the margin 24 of the stationery to advance the stationery in a generally linear path. The marginal material of the stationery is removed therefrom by the cooperation of a pair of vertically spaced cutting discs 25 and 25a which are mounted on shafts l5 and 15a, respectively, and are adjusted, by means explained later, to cut close beside the line of weakening 24a. The combination of the diameter of the discs 25 and 25a and the distance between the shafts 15 and 15a upon which they are mounted is such that portions of their cutting edges 26 and 26a, respectively, overlap in an area adjacent the pinwheel 21. It is this slight overlapping which maintains the discs in operable relation when the discs are rotated by appropriate connecting means from the driven shafts 15 and 15a for cutting stationery driven through the unit by the pinwheel 21.

Impaled on the upstanding pins 22 of the pinwheel 21 and driven thereby is a moving element 27 which has a number of openings in excess of the number of pins 22. In the illustrated embodiment of this invention the moving element 27 includes an elongate tape or belt 23 of resilient material, such as Mylar or the like, which has a plurality of motion receiving means or holes 29 therein adapted to be impaled by the pins 22 of the pinwheel. Also included in element 27 is an idler wheel 36 around which belt 23 passes. The idler Wheel 3i) isjournalled for free rotation at 30a' and is positionedl from the pinwheel 21. so that a portion of the belt 28'travels'inr general parallelism with the line of paper separation from the pinwheel 2l. The idler wheel 30 is spaced from the pinwheel 21 a sufiicient distance to maintain the `belt 28 in tension. Since the belt is driven by the same element as the paper it travels at essentially lpaper speed.

When stationery reaches a point Yon the pinwheel generally ona line with the pin designated 3l in FIGURE4, it has its marginal portion cut by the cooperative action of the discs 25 and 25a. That marginal portion 24 then travel-s a horizontal path out of the'trim unit where it is deiiectcd into an appropriate waste receptacle (not shown) by the deiiector 19b which intersects the path of travel of the marginal portion 24. As the marginal portion 24 assumes this horizontal path the pins are pulled downwardly out of the holes 23 `of the margin. That is, the pins continuetheir rotational movement on a path .divergent from that of the marginal material 24. In so doing the pins 22-beingassuming an angular relation with respect to the holes 23, as illustrated by the pin designated 31a inFIGURE 4, rather than a perpendicu-.

lar relation. In such an angular relation portions of the extremities of the pins 22 will be further along the path of travel of the marginal material 24 `than will be .the furthest portion of the edge of the respective holes 23. As the pin 22 continues its travel around the periphery of the pin wheel 21 such a relationship will create aV tendency for the pin to pull the marginal material 24 along with it on its peripheral line of travel as the pin recedes from the `hole 23, rather than permitting the marginal material 24 to travel a true horizontal path. This is indicated by the dotted line 38 in FIGURE 4. Since trimmer mechanisms are driven at extremely high speeds such a deflection of the path oftravel of the marginal material 24 can cause a serious jam of paper within a trim unit in an extremelyV short time. However, with a moving element, such as the Mylar belt 28, positioned on the pinwheel underneath the marginal material 24 this deilection is prevented. The belt is in tension and therefore more taut than the paper margin, travels at the same speed and generally parallel with the margin 24 and thus tends to lift the margin from the pins of the pinwheel. Therefore the paper assumes a generally linear or true tangential linear pathV of travel from the pinwheel at the point designated by the pin 31 (FIGURE 4) and no jam can result.

As the marginal material 24 `is advanced from the pinwheel 21 it may also have a tendency to rise or buckle vertically, possibly due to transverse lines of weakening which may be present in the stationery 11 being driven through the trim unit 14. This can cause the margin 24 to become disengaged from the pinwheel 21 and interrupt the operative advancing relation therebetween. `To prevent this, there is mounted above the path of travel of the marginal material 24 and generally parallel theretoa means for maintaining stationery in driving engagement with the pin wheel and limiting the vertical movement thereof, comprising a vertical paper deiiecting means or-yieldable spaced guide means 32. This guide 32 :is a generally flat, thin, elongate strip of resilient material such as' a iiat steel spring 33 positioned above the path of travelof the stationery lin the area of the pinwheel and having a longitudinal slot 34extending in the direction of paper travel for permitting the passage of the radially extending pins 22. The spring 33 is yieldable in a Vertical direction and is mounted to the trim unit behind the point of paper separation from the pinwheel at one end 35 by appropriate means such as screw 35a so that it will dampen verticalmoveinent of the marginal material 24 without limiting'the yhorizontal movement thereof. The paperdeiiecting means 32 combines Vwith the moving element 27 to form a channel through which the marginal paper material 24 must pass, at least one side of which is a movable member. It is possible that a second moving element 27, allochirally related to the moving element 27 in the illustrated embodiment, could. be used in place oi the paper deilecting means 32.

Positioned on the front of the ,trim unit and inthe path of paper iiow is a paper` hold-down or register means A36 for registeringthe holes of the paper on the pins of the pinwheel and initiating the iiow oi stationery into the trimunit. The hold-down means ineludes la roller 37 having portions of different diameters on a commonrcenter. The roller 37 is rotatably mounted on an arm 38 pivotally mounted to the unit at 38aand ispringloaded by a helical spring 38h for urging the roller toward the pinwheel 21. In its portion of greater diameter, 37a', the wheel 37 rests against `the periphery of Vthepinwheel adjacent that portion on which the belt and the marginal material are irnpaled and driven thereby. In its portion of least diameter, 37b, the wheel 37is recessed a suiiicient distancev to permit the free rotation of the pinwheel-21 so that the pins 22 will not strike the wheel. Portions 37C and 37e of the wheel 37 are of the same diameter which is less than portion 37a` but greater than 37b. The dia-meter of portions 37e and 37C issuch that the wheel, in those portions, rdoes not contact .the periphery of the pinwheel but rather isa suicient distance away so that there will be vspace for a set of stationery.betwcenportions 37C and 37e' and the surface of the pinwheel 2l. However, the wheel `37V is suiciently close toy thepinwheel 2l in the area-s 37C andf37c that, in combination with its rotational movement imparted by the pin wheel 21 in the area 27a, the wheel. urges` the holes of the stationery inregistry with the. upstanding pins of the `pin wheel and also .tends to smooth out any transversely yextending creases which may be transformed into upstanding buckles in the stationery'll.

For adjusting the trim units to cut stationery of different marginal widths, the cutting discs 25 and 25a are secured to the driven shaftsv by interconnecting means 60 and 60u. Interconneoting means 60 and 69a include disc holders 4()y and 40a, respectively, which 4are appropriately interconnected with collars 41- and 41a,.respectively, on the driven shafts 15 and 15a by suitable means, such as a slot 42 in the holder and a key 43 on the collar. This interconnection transmits rotational force from .the driven shafts to the. discs but permits the discsand holders to be moved laterally relative to the shafts` and to the pinwheel which is an integral part of the collar 41a; Disc 25a is resiliently urged against disc 25 byrneans of a plurality of coil springs 44 which reside in the disc holder 49a and extend laterally in abutting `relation to the side of the pinwheel 21 so thatlate'ral movement of the collar 41 will correspondingly cause lateral movement of the collar 41a. For adjusting the position of the discs there is a manually operable traversing unit `4d consisting of a screw member `46 extending generally parallelto the shaft 15 and a threaded member or carriery 47` mounted thereon. Carrier 47 extends substantially normal to the longitudinal axiszof both the shaft 15 and'screw 46. At its lower-end carrier 47 mounts a bearing 48 which extends into the circumferential groove49 of the collar ,40 for transmitting lateral movement to the disc 25 (therefore the disc 25a) by rotationfof the screw 46. Asuitable indication means may be formed on the unit for determining the relative position of the cutting discs 25 and 25m' Disc holderl 40a `is of greater lateralwidth than the, disc holder 40. They lateral movement of the disc holder 40a will be limited by the snap ring 66, and it can be-seen that, due to the greater cross-sectional lateral width of the disc holder 40a, this holderV and its associated disc 25a` is notV capable of as great a lateral movement away zfrom the pinwheel 21 as is lthe disc holder 4t) and its associated disc 25. Thus when the disc holder 40 has been moved laterally along the collar 41 to a point where the disc holder 40a has moved laterally along the collar 41a until -it rests against the snap ring 66, the disc holder 40 is still capable of further lateral movement in the same direction. Such further lateral movement of the disc holder 40 will bring the discs 25 and 25a out of facial engagement, and therefore out of operable association, and they will not cut stationery that is passed between them. When the holders 4() and 40a have both reached their respective limit of lateral movement the blades 25 and 25a will be separated from the disc equal to the distance in lateral cross-section dimension of the two holders. When the blades are so separated they are in what is known as a no trim position. When the discs are in the aforementioned no trim position the pinwheel still is in operable association with the perforate margin of the stationery for advancing the stationery through the trim unit. When the discs are in the no trim position the function of the moving element is of increased importance. When the trim unit is removing marginal material from the stationery, the possible jamming of the marginal material will have substantially little or no effect on the remainder of the stationery being driven through the trim unit, and possibly through an imprinter, because the marginal material is no longer physically associated with the stationery. However, when the margin is not being trimmed the pinwheels are engaging marginal portions of the stationery which remain attached thereto and any deection or downward pull of that marginal portion can affect the flow of the stationery. Thus jamming of the marginal material of the stationery when the trim unit is in a no trim position could cause creasing or tearing of the stationery being fed into the trimmer mechanism and, as the stationery is also being fed through an associated imprinter, could cause nonregistered printing to be transferred thereto. Therefore it is apparent that the moving element is an aid to high speed paper travel in many situations where the paper may be advanced by means of the engagement of a pinwheel with holes in the stationery or in a manner similar thereto.

The trim units are secured to the mounting bar 13 by means of a ring 52 which is press fitted in the base of the trim unit and surrounds the mounting shaft 13. A clamp screw 53 with a manually engageable knob 54 extends radially outwardly o-f the bottom of the ring 52 for locking and unlocking the unit to the mounting bar. The collars 41 and 41a have an interior configuration for mating with the hexagonal shaped drive shafts. This interior configuration fixes the collars on the shafts for receiving rotational motion from the shafts but permits lateral movement of the collars and their associated elements relative to the drive shafts. Thus the entire trim unit may be laterally moved along the length of the mounting shaft and the driven shafts by loosening the clamp screw 53 and sliding the unit in the desired direction and thereby adjust the units to trim stationery of different widths.

Each trim unit has a cover 54 of clear plastic material which includes a downwardly extending shield 56 for preventing the trimmer operator from coming into contact with the cutting discs and also helps guide stationery into the trimmer. Located below the guide 56 and generally coextensive therewith is a base guide 58 which combines with the guide 56 to form a paper infeed channel into the trimmer. An indicator means may be formed on the top of the cover 54 for indicating the position of the cutting discs.

A trim rewind reel 62 is located at the front of the trimmer below the trim units for receiving the severed margins from the stationery in order to compact the same for disposal. Additional paper guides 20 and 20a are mounted at the front of the trimer on the mounting bar 13 to support the center portions of the stationery 6 being fed into the trimmer. After the stationery passes the trimmer mechanism it is supported on a paper outfeed platform 65 shown in phantom outline in FIGURE l `and drops from there at the rear of the trimmer l@ to an outfeed shelf (not shown).

Machines for processing continuous form stationery must be able to operate at high speeds without breakdown or unnecessary stoppage of the machine. The device of this invention promotes high speed operation by limiting buckling of the stationery by means of the paper deflecting spring and therefore preventing any slippage that might occur in driving the paper. However this elimination of paper buckling and slippage is done without significantly retarding the forward motion of the paper and the trimmer portion thereof. This invention also eliminates a major cause of machine stoppage or breakdown due to paper jamming. A continuous surface which runs over the drive wheel and under the stationery gives the trimmed margin a moving support. This surface tends to lift the margin of the stationery off the pinwheel at the point of the disengagement of the driving pins with the paper and therefore prevent the pin from pulling the paper down with it. The device of this invention promotes more rapid and reliable trimmer units in that it provides positive control and guiding of paper being trimmed thereby.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for the clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. In a business machine adapted to accept marginally perforated control punched stationery therein, means for controlling and guiding stationery therethrough, comprising: a driven pinwheel mounted on a driven shaft, said pinwheel having generally radially extending pins adapted to engage perforations in said stationery land advance the same through said unit; and means for maintaining said stationery in a generally linear path of travel along a line tangential to a point of separation from said pinwheel and in linear alignment with the pins thereof, including a moving element positioned between said stationery and said pinwheel impaled on and driven by the pins of pinwheel and having a number of openings in excess of the pins on said pinwheel, said moving element having a portion traveling in general parallelism with the line of paper separation from the pinwheel.

2. In a business machine adapted to accept marginally perforated control punched stationery therein, means for controlling and guiding stationery therethrough, comprising: a driven pinwheel mounted on a rst driven shaft, said pinwheel having generally radially extending pins adapted to engage perforations in said stationery and advance the same through said unit; and a moving support means for the cut material of the stationary for maintaining said cut material in a generally linear path of travel from the point of its separation from the pinwheel, said means including a movable member comprising a belt impaled on and driven by said pins of said pinwheel and having a number of openings in excess of that of the number of pinwheels, said belt having a portion traveling in general parallelism with a line tangent to the point of paper separation from said pinwheel at substantially paper speed, whereby said cut material portions is prevented from diverging along the periphery of the pinwheel.

3. In a trim unit for trimming perforated marginal material from stationery, means for controlling and guiding stationery therethrough comprising: a driven pinwheel mounted on a first driven shaft, said pinwheel having generally radially extending pins adapted to engage perforations in said stationery and advance the same through said unit; means for cutting said marginal material from said stationery advanced by said pinwheel; moving support means for the cut marginal material of the stationery for maintaining said material in a generally linear path Sassano? of travel from the point of its separation from the pin- Wheel, said means including a movable member comprising a belt impaled and driven by said pins of said pinwheel and having a number of openings in excess of that of the number of pinwheels, said belt having a portion traveling in general parallelism with a line tangent to the point of paper separation from said pinwheel and in linear alignment with the pins thereof at substantially paper speed, whereby said cut material is prevented from following along the periphery of the pinwheel; and means for limiting vertical movement of said cut material through the trim unit including an elongate resilient member closely spaced above the path of travel of the eut material in the area of the pinwheel and being xedly secured at one end for yielding in a vertical direction to 84. dampen vertical movement ofthe cut marginal material stationery Without limiting horizontal movement thereof.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,983,586 12/34 Watson et al. 226-82 2,476,326 7/49 Sherman 83--423 3,015,425 1/62 Wicklund 226-74 3,039,345 6/62 Euth 83-430 3,056,324 10/62 Lach 83-431 3,058,638 10/ 62 Christoif etal 226-76 ANDREW RQJUHASZ, Primary Examiner. CARL W. TOMLVIN, LEON PEAR, Examiners.V 

1. IN A BUSINESS MACHINE ADAPTED TO ACCEPT MARGINALLY PERFORATED CONTROL PUNCHED STATIONARY THEREIN, MEANS FOR CONTROLLING AND GUIDING STATIONARY THERETHROUGH, COMPRISING: A DRIVEN PINWHEEL MOUNTED ON A DRIVEN SHAFT, SAID PINWHEEL HAVING GENERALLY RADIALLY EXTENDING PINS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE PERFORATIONS IN SAID STATIONARY AND ADVANCE THE SAME THROUGH SAID UNIT; AND MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID STATIONARY IN A GENERALLY LINEAR PATH OF TRAVEL ALONG A LINE TANGENTIAL TO A POINT OF SEPARATION FROM SAID PINWHEEL AND IN LINEAR ALIGNMENT WITH THE PINS THEREOF, INCLUDING A MOVING ELEMENT POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID STATIONARY AND SAID PINWHEEL IMPALED ON AND DRIVEN BY THE PINS OF PINWHEEL AND HAVING A NUMBER OF OPENINGS IN EXCESS OF THE PINS ON SAID PINWHEEL, SAID MOVING ELEMENT HAVING A PORTION TRAVELING IN GENERAL PARALLELISM WITH THE LINE OF PAPER SEPARATION FROM THE PINWHEEL. 